After hitting a record $486 billion in December, Elon Musk has seen his fortune plummet below $400 billion for the first time in 2025, according to Fortune. Tesla shares have plunged 27% in less than two months, due to weak demand for electric vehicles and political controversies surrounding Musk.
Tesla in trouble, Musk lost nearly 90 billion USD in net assets
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk has lost nearly $90 billion in the first two months of the year—a huge amount even for the world’s richest man. This is mainly due to a sharp decline in Tesla’s stock due to falling sales, fierce competition from BYD (China), and Musk’s unfulfilled promises about self-driving technology.
In 2024, Tesla recorded its first year-over-year sales decline in more than a decade, selling fewer than 20,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, BYD continued to expand its market share with affordable electric vehicles and cutting-edge AI driving technology.
The situation was even more dire in Europe, where Tesla sales fell 63% in France and 60% in Germany—even as the region's electric vehicle market is slowly recovering.
Tesla shares have fallen for five straight days, not only because of poor earnings but also because of Musk’s bold moves. He and a group of investors recently made a $97.4 billion acquisition offer for OpenAI—a move that sent shockwaves through the AI industry. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, however, immediately rejected the offer and instead offered to buy social media platform X from Musk for $9.74 billion.
Tesla’s stock price has also been affected by political factors. Tesla’s stock price jumped 14% after the US presidential election on expectations that the Donald Trump administration would have policies that favor US electric vehicles. However, Trump’s plans to cut renewable energy subsidies could be detrimental to electric car companies, including Tesla.
Musk still "causes a fever" with huge ambitions
Despite Tesla's struggles, Musk made headlines with a new ambition in his January earnings report. He claimed Tesla could reach $10 trillion in revenue thanks to its humanoid robot Optimus and self-driving car technology—areas he believes will explode in the future.
“Tesla and Musk are entering a golden age,” said Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, optimistically.
Not everyone thinks so, however. Some experts warn that Tesla's biggest obstacle right now isn't technology, but Musk's image.
Musk's close ties to Trump, coupled with his role in a massive layoff at the Department of Government Efficiency, have turned many consumers away from Tesla.
“Tesla’s biggest challenge in 2025 is not technology, but public perception,” stressed Jacob Falkencrone, chief investment strategist at Saxo Bank.
A recent Stifel survey found that Tesla's favorability rating has dropped to just 3%, near its lowest level since 2018. Stifel even lowered its price target on Tesla's stock from $492 to $478, while maintaining a "buy" rating.
